Private Equity
Ottawa-based Mitel Networks Corp is in talks to merge with U.S. peer Polycom Inc, in a deal that would combine the voice and telephony equipment providers and heed the demands of U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management Corp, sources told Reuters. Elliott has been calling for the two companies to merge since October, when the US$23 billion fund disclosed a 6.6 percent stake in Polycom and a 9.6 percent stake in Mitel.
2 min read · 16 March 2016
ISS A/S (ISS.CO, ISS DC) has been notified by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan of the latter's decision to sell its shares in the company. Ontario Teachers, which invested in ISS in August 2012, will no longer hold any of its shares following the sale. Copenhagen, Denmark-based ISS, a provider of integrated facility services, went public two years ago. It was previously majority-owned by EQT Partners and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners.
2 min read · 15 March 2016
Bill Murray, a director at Canadian private equity firm Regimen Partners, has been appointed an advisor to the board of directors of eQube Gaming Ltd (TSX-V: EQG), an Edmonton-based provider of community and charitable gaming solutions. Murray will formally join the board subject to regulatory approvals. Prior to joining Regimen in 2015, Murray had a 20-year career as an investment banker at several firms, including National Bank Financial. Regimen's recent deals include its January investment in Central Technology Services Corp.
3 min read · 15 March 2016
Australia's Asciano Ltd has agreed to a A$9.1 billion (US$6.8 billion) buyout by two consortia after a seven-month bidding war for the port and rail giant, Reuters reported. Asciano said it supported a joint bid from local rival Qube Holdings Ltd, Canada's Brookfield Asset Management and a host of backers from China to Qatar. Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board is among the investors that will get Asciano's railways business.
2 min read · 15 March 2016
VersaCold Logistic Services has agreed to acquire Coastal Pacific Xpress, a Surrey, B.C.-based refrigerated carrier specializing in the shipping of perishable and ambient products across North America. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which is expected to close in the first half of 2016. The proposed acquisition follows VersaCold's buy last month of Gary Heer Transport Ltd. Based in Vancouver, Versacold is a supply chain solutions company. It is backed by Canadian real estate private equity firm KingSett Capital and Ivanhoé Cambridge, an affiliate of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
3 min read · 14 March 2016
OPTrust, the investor and manager of the OPSEU Pension Plan, has reported net investment income for 2015 of $1.4 billion, resulting in a net 8 percent return. This helped to increase the Toronto-based pension plan's total net assets to $18.4 billion at the end of December, compared to $17.5 billion a year ago. Private equity investments accounted for 9.2 percent of total assets last year, and returned 14.4 percent, according to OPTrust's 2015 financial statements. Infrastructure investments accounted for 12.8 percent of total assets, and returned 7 percent.
3 min read · 14 March 2016
Birch Communications Inc has confirmed a previously announced agreement to acquire select assets and customers of Primus Telecommunications Canada Inc, a full-service telecommunications services provider. No financial terms were released. The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, will help the Atlanta, GA-based Birch expand its services footprint to include all of the major cities in Canada, the company said. As reported by PE Hub Canada in January, Etobicoke, Ont.-based Primus obtained creditor protection earlier this year. The company was acquired by U.S. private equity firm York Capital Management in a US$129 million deal in mid-2013.
4 min read · 14 March 2016
IAM Private Debt Group has announced the provision of a $28 million loan to Data Group Ltd (TSX: DGI), a Brampton, Ontario-based provider of managed business communications services. Data Group, which was recently rebranded as DATA Communications Management, plans to use the loan in the refinancing of its senior credit facilities. IAM Private Debt Group, an affiliate of Canadian alternative assets manager Integrated Asset Management Corp, raised $672 million in the final close of its fifth private corporate debt fund in November 2015.
2 min read · 14 March 2016
India's Kotak Mahindra Group said it has signed an agreement with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) to invest up to US$525 million in stressed assets in the country's banking and corporate sectors, Reuters reported. CPPIB and the Indian financial services conglomerate, along with its asset reconstruction arm, Phoenix ARC, plan to invest in asset sales by banks with the aim to restructure, recover and turnaround companies in distress. CPPIB will have the ability to invest up to US$450 million in the initiative.
1 min read · 14 March 2016
Latin American engineering conglomerate Grupo Odebrecht SA is considering selling the majority stake it has in petrochemical producer Braskem SA, sources told Reuters. Odebrecht could exit Braskem in a joint transaction with state-controlled oil producer Petrobras, the sources added. The potential buyers are said to include Canada's Brookfield Asset Management.
3 min read · 11 March 2016
